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10.17.2013

The buzz of love is busy buggin’ youWell, they fly in the air as you comb your hairAnd they’re splattered up and downYour windshield and the headlight-The Flaming Lips

Shortly
after we first arrived in China, a local Beijinger invited us over for dinner and
served up a savory fare of spicy ribs, noodles, and bugs (see Buggin’).Recently I told our gracious host how much I
enjoyed eating the cicadas at his home. A few days later he handed me a
container of prepared cicadas, told me to stir-fry them, and said “Enjoy!”
Well, I do enjoy eating strange food – but eating unusual food is not a solo
affair. The experience must be shared, preferably with brave people.

Fortunately,
San Franciscans Taj and Michelle were in town visiting their long-time friends
and our neighbors, Xueshan and Zhiruo. While our out-of-towners weren’t busy—buying
knock-off Ray Ban sunglasses, navigating traffic by bicycle, and wondering at
Chinese girls’ confusing fashion choices—they were willing to experience
Beijing culinary delights from street side chuanr (Chinese style kabobs) to
Beijing roast duck to stir-fried cicadas. Ok, Taj partook of eating duck and
the cicadas feast. Except for shrimp and bacon, Michelle is vegetarian.

Our guests
imagined that the cicada’s exoskeleton would be crunchy, and its guts would explode
into a gooey mess upon chewing. Their fears were unfounded. The entire cicada
is crunchy and salty, and surprisingly edible. The consensus was: Cicadas are quite
delicious!

10.07.2013

From the dew-soaked hedge creeps a crawly caterpillarWhen the dawn begins to crack, it's all part of my autumn almanacBreeze blows leaves of a musty-colored yellowSo I sweep them in my sack, yes, yes, yes, it's my autumn almanac-The Kinks

Autumn has
arrived! The nights are cooler, the days not so sticky hot, and the kids are
back in school. While birdMAN is back to teaching English, I have achieved my
lifelong dream of being a housewife. Even though I am jobless, I am by no means
bored or unproductive. Now I just have more time to dust all that Beijing grime
off the furniture and increase my Chinese speaking skills.

I have several
methods for study:

I listen to ChinesePod mp3s while running,
cleaning, riding the subway or bus, walking to the store, etc. ChinesePod is
great for oral expressions like “Wake up lazy bug!” (哎，懒虫，醒醒!)
and “Whatever!” (放屁吧你!)

I read English and Chinese versions of the same
books and magazines. I then make flashcards of words I don’t know along with
sample sentences. I carry these flashcards with me and review them whenever I
have a few minutes. Example words in my stack include “romantic” (浪漫) ,
“good qualities” (长处) and “discreet” (睿智)

I have an oral Chinese lesson book that I read
aloud. I bought this book at a Chinese language school at which I plan to take
classes. Maybe next week I will enroll.

I talk to anybody who speaks Chinese.
Fortunately, Chinese people are everywhere! Hello, free Chinese lesson. Just muster up courage and go for
it. People love to talk here, and they love foreigners.

The last method
is the most daunting. It sort of goes like this: Me: “Hi, are you from
Beijing?...Where are you from?...Are you a student?/What is your job? …Do you
have any children?...Do your children live with you?...How old are you?...You look
so young!...The air pollution is so bad today...I am from America…My hair is
black because I am half Chinese…I don’t have any children yet…I have been in
China for one year…I have been learning Chinese for one year…my Chinese is
terrible...can you say that again?...what does that mean?...can you say that
again?”

Asking a
million and one questions is not offensive to a Chinese person. Also, Chinese
people are extremely hospitable and proud of their heritage, eager to introduce
China to foreigners. Occasionally, this means a dinner invitation to eat
special Beijing food. A few times I found myself at a Chinese restaurant discussing
all kinds of topics I don’t have the vocabulary for including American politics,
guns, boyfriends, and the meaning of life. Meanwhile, I get to eat all kinds of
delicious and not-so-delicious dishes that I would not ordinarily order.

So what is my
autumn plan? Buy some more sweaters for the long, cold winter that quickly
approaches, and of course, hit the books! And then hit the streets and find
someone for a chat.

Happy
studying!

Chinese word
of the blog: 放屁吧你(Fàngpì ba nǐ literally, “fart on you,” meaning “Your words are
nothing more than farts.” Use with caution. This is trash talk and nice girls don’t
say this.)